Curious Doings was the company formed from the pilot of a brand new postgraduate performer training programme.

The course aimed to produce rounded reflective practitioners who, in addition to developing traditional performance skills, have the ability to create performance, event, entertainment in a broader sense. Much of the course focused on devised work and had an ensemble ethos.

HOW TOM BEAT CAPTAIN NAJORK AND HIS HIRED SPORTSMEN was the final result of the module of the course called CHILDSPLAY: MAKING PERFORMANCE FOR A YOUNGER AUDIENCE. During this module, students explored a range of devising strategies, participated in voice, singing and circus as ongoing skills development workshops as well as met various practitioners who specialise in this field.

The show featured as part of the Belfast International Children’s Festival – affording the opportunity for the student company to make work on an international platform and not in isolation and to see some of the best children’s performance companies in the world.